


Friend or Foe

by darthmelyanna, miera



Series: stargate_ren [3]
Category: Stargate Atlantis, Stargate SG-1
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Historical, Alternate Universe - Renaissance, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-11-13
Updated: 2006-11-17
Packaged: 2019-02-06 20:08:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 21,773
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12825138
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/darthmelyanna/pseuds/darthmelyanna, https://archiveofourown.org/users/miera/pseuds/miera
Summary: Weeks after the coronation, the Wraith lay waste to a village on the Atalanian coast, setting in motion a sequence of events that could prove disastrous to Queen Elizabeth's reign.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> The authors are appropriately contrite about the delay, but this is what happens when three perfectionists get together and take on a project like this. ;)

Title: Friend or Foe  
Authors: AngelQueen, Miera, and Melyanna  
Rating: Older kid-friendly  
Summary: Weeks after the coronation, the Wraith lay waste to a village on the Atalanian coast, setting in motion a sequence of events that could prove disastrous to Queen Elizabeth's reign.  
Notes: The authors are appropriately contrite about the delay, but this is what happens when three perfectionists get together and take on a project like this. ;)

  
The sun was rising in the eastern skies with a splendor the likes of which Katherine Heightmeyer had never before seen. The sight of water turned golden by the sun’s first rays was almost enough to make her wish she could rise early and be out at sea by dawn every day for the rest of her life.

Aboard the _Queen Margaret_ , Kate was wrapped up in a warm, woolen cloak that shielded all but her face from the autumn morning’s chill. The sea spray was almost icy, but she rather liked the feeling. Though it did remind her of that time that Laura had woken her by splashing frigid rain water on her face, somehow it was refreshing all the same.

She glanced across the deck and smiled, seeing Laura hovering near the rigging and knowing that her friend was aching to climb up and stand on one of the yardarms. Lord Jack had already caught her by the waist and dragged her down once, with a stern admonition and a question of what her betrothed would do to them all if she went tumbling down. Kate had to wonder if Jack had ever watched Laura move. She had an innate grace, the likes of which Kate had never seen in another woman. There were times when Kate almost believed that if Laura wished to, she could fly.

For now, Laura’s feet were firmly on the deck, but it was obvious that she was thrilled to be there anyway. What surprised Kate more was that Laura was not the most excited one there. That distinction went to Elizabeth.

Three weeks had passed since her Majesty reached her eighteenth birthday and was crowned Queen of Atalan. There was still a deep sadness in her eyes whenever Sir Marshall Sumner was mentioned, but she had emerged from mourning him with an energy and zeal that Kate was quite happy to see. Atalan needed both her strength and her love, after all, and Kate had little doubt that she would deliver both to them.

Just as she sometimes wondered if Laura could master flight, Kate now found herself wondering if it was too much to think that her sovereign could single-handedly defeat the Wraith, eliminate the Goa’uld threat, and forge an alliance between Atalan and Caldora. Her countrymen were finding it difficult to resist her fervor to restore the land to its former glory, and it was well that they were joining in her enthusiasm.

Along the northern coast, the Wraith had been abnormally silent since the coronation. But to the west rumors were spreading of a planned Goa’uld incursion into another territory, a desperate bid to regain the slave labor they had lost when the struggling Jaffa nation, now bordering Atalan, broke free of their masters. And to the south was Caldora, Atalan’s ancient rival, though the two nations had never formally gone to war with each other. Caldora had yielded to the Ori while Atalan had paid a heavy price for resisting, and sixteen years later it was still an insult of the highest order in Atlantis to call someone a Caldoran. Though King Henry had sent a letter to Elizabeth upon her coronation, he had not sent an ambassador to attend, something which was being spoken of as a grave insult to the young monarch. Elizabeth remained hopeful, but relations between the two countries were colder than ever.

But on this bright morning, Kate thought with a smile, all things seemed possible.

At the moment, the queen was following Master Rodney McKay of Iolan, who had designed the _Queen Margaret_ , and asking him all manner of questions concerning the ship’s construction and her crew. McKay spoke to her as one irritated with a guest he could not ignore, but Kate recognized what was going through her friend’s mind. While the shipwright rattled off all manner of information, Elizabeth was calculating what would be required for the rebuilding of her country’s once-proud fleet.

Captain Lorne was with her, as were Lord George and Lord Daniel, so Kate stayed back, suspecting that adding another to the entourage would only make McKay more unhappy. She cast her gaze to the bow of the ship and found a most unlikely pair. The presence of either Lady Catherine Littlefield or Sir John, one of the newest knights in Elizabeth’s service, was to be expected, though Kate would not at first have thought that the two of them would have become friends so easily. But Sir John was a charming man, and Catherine was easy in anyone’s company.

The two were laughing when Kate approached them, and when they noticed her, Catherine said, “Lady Kate, Sir John was just telling me of his time on a merchant ship a few years ago.”

“Which story is this, Sir John?” Kate asked. “Your daring rescue of a young boy, or your crewmates throwing you overboard as a joke?”

Catherine swatted John’s arm affectionately. “You had told me neither of those stories,” she protested.

Kate grinned at the way John’s eyes widened. “It is your own fault,” she said, “for having told the queen in my presence.” Since rescuing Elizabeth from an assassination attempt in the hours just before the coronation, John had become something of a fixture in Atlantis, often seated near the queen at meals and entertaining her with stories of his travels.

John made a face and sighed melodramatically. “Why do I stay in this country?”

Just then, the ship lurched forward with the waves, and a great spray of cold water splashed over them all. Kate stepped behind John almost out of instinct, but that did not keep her dry. While he helped steady Lady Catherine as the ship righted itself, Kate remarked dryly, “Why, for our temperate weather, of course.”

Lady Catherine laughed. “How did you get such a tongue, child?” she asked. “I do believe your mother would be horrified.”

Kate stiffened involuntarily at the mention of her mother, but thankfully, before she could dwell on that topic long, the queen approached, a smile on her face. “My lady,” Kate said, “is there something you need?”

Elizabeth shook her head. “I am merely looking over my ship,” she said, her eyes sparkling.

“You seem pleased, Majesty,” Sir John remarked.

Her smile turned enigmatic as she inhaled the sea air deeply. “I feel free,” she replied.

Kate felt quite certain that had the queen’s cousin, Lord Daniel, been standing near enough, he would have been unnerved by how open Elizabeth was being with the knight. Indeed, in the course of the last three weeks Kate had already begun to hear whispers about the unprecedented favor Elizabeth had bestowed on this stranger. Those who were practical about such matters were at least willing to admit that the young queen had been so sheltered even from the royal court that they had never seen her in a position to grant favor to anyone, outside of the small circle of young ladies who had been her only peers and friends during the regency.

The less charitable, though, were suspicious of the man, knowing little of his background or his intentions. And his intimacy with the young queen had raised more than one rumor of impropriety on Elizabeth’s part. Kate knew the rumors were flatly false and always would be. Elizabeth knew that part of her duty now was to marry and produce an heir, and she was too well aware of that responsibility to endanger her honor, even with a man she seemed to appreciate and admire as much as Sir John.

But Kate’s observations were cut short when the boy perched atop the mainsail cried, “Sail ho!”

She looked up to see where he was pointing and followed the gesture down to the water. Halfway between them and the mainland was a small vessel, having far more difficulty with the choppy seas than they were. They were on the wrong side of the isthmus to be from the village of Athos. “Master McKay,” Elizabeth said, coming around Kate to stand at the railing, “tell the captain to bring these people aboard.” While the shipwright left to follow the queen’s instructions, she asked, “Lord George, were we expecting anyone from the mainland this morning?”

“No, your Majesty,” he replied. His tone suggested what Elizabeth’s had also implied, that this news from the other side of the channel was probably unpleasant.

Elizabeth folded her lips together tightly and they waited. Within a few minutes the boat had come up alongside the _Queen Margaret_ , and three or four of her passengers came aboard. Elizabeth approached them with Kate and the rest following, and immediately the older man in the group bowed to her. “Your Majesty,” he said, “I fear I bring terrible news.”

The queen frowned. “Your name, sir?”

“Druhin,” he replied. “Mayor of Hoff. We were attacked by the Wraith last night.”

Kate looked at Elizabeth, who exhaled and closed her eyes. “I feared as much. How bad is it, Master Druhin?”

He shook his head. “There is not a building left without need of many repairs,” he said. “Two months ago we would have had the time to rebuild, but winter will be upon us soon. We have neither the time nor the resources to build shelter for the elderly and the children before the first freeze. As it is, I fear that enough of our crops were destroyed or stolen that we will not have enough food to sustain us all. We were coming to Atlantis to beg your Grace for assistance.”

“I understand, sir,” she replied, her voice soft but commanding. “Are the survivors still in the village?”

“Yes, milady.”

Elizabeth nodded. “Sir John will take you below,” she said. “You must be weary, and I would have you rest while I discuss this with my advisors and decide how we can best aid you and your people.”

Druhin was visibly relieved. He bowed to her again. “Thank you, your Majesty.”

With a glance, Elizabeth gave Sir John his orders. He nodded to her and directed the men away while the queen turned around to face Lord Daniel and Lord George. By then, Lord Jack had joined them as well. “What manner of assistance can we give them?” she asked quietly.

“The college can be persuaded to supply their lack as far as food goes,” Daniel said. “If all else fails, Langford has had a good year.” As the duke of the province of Langford, one of the largest and most prosperous in the country, Daniel was second in rank only to the queen herself.

Elizabeth shook her head. “I will not put that burden solely on your shoulders,” she replied. “But for now I believe the more pressing concern is what we will do with the refugees, and how we will help them rebuild the village as quickly as possible, that they may return to their homes and resume their lives.”

Jack nodded, crossing his arms over his chest. “We could host them in the palace for a few days,” he offered.

“And in the meantime we speak with Lady Teyla,” Elizabeth continued, “and see if the villages in her province would be able to shelter them until they can go back to Hoff.”

“A few days will give us time to ensure that we can divide them into groups that still keep families together,” Lord George said, “and will give us time to assemble a work force to begin the rebuilding.”

Elizabeth looked to Jack. “Can we spare some part of the army in that endeavor?”

He hesitated, and Kate could see the wariness in his face. Atalan was surrounded by dangers these days, and this latest Wraith attack could not have done much to ease Jack’s mind. “I cannot give you an absolute answer now,” he replied, “but it is possible.”

“Find out,” she ordered. “In the meantime, we have a ship large enough to transport the people of this village to Atlantis. Let us do so without delay.”

* * *

  
As the leader of Atalan’s armies, Jack had seen many wars in his life, too many. He had fought the Goa’uld, witnessed the destruction wreaked on his homeland by the Ori. He had seen the results of Wraith attacks before.

The smoldering ruins of what had been the village of Hoff made him ill. This was not a battle. It was a massacre.

Fires still burned in some of the rubble. Smoke clouded the area, and under the smell of burnt wood was the noxious odor of those who had been unable to escape or purposely left to be consumed by the fires when the Wraith were through with their slaughter. Jack’s stomach turned over in revolt at the stench and he willed himself not to be sick.

Wraith raids usually killed a few people. While they would kidnap villagers on occasion, their goal was always food and supplies. Except here. Last night their goal had been to wipe the village of Hoff from existence. He could think of a number of reasons for this action, none of them boding well for the new queen.

Beside Jack was the young stranger who had caught the queen’s attention these past few weeks. Though Sir John was in service to Elizabeth, he was not officially part of the military. Still, when Jack and Daniel had been organizing who would stay on the ship with the queen and who would venture to the shore to gather the survivors, Jack had summoned the younger man to go with him.

Even then, John had hesitated and looked to Elizabeth silently for her assent before moving.

Now he stood transfixed. His jaw was tight but his eyes were cold. Jack could not guess what he was thinking precisely, but he knew John had been in the Athosian village during a Wraith attack a month ago. Was he looking about and seeing Lady Teyla’s people, crushed and burned, their blood soaked into the earth?

Movement in the trees along the outskirts of the site caught Jack’s eyes. The small number of men and women who had managed by luck or skill to escape the onslaught were hovering in the shadows. Like terrified animals, they seemed afraid to emerge into the bright light.

He could do nothing for the dead except wait for the fires to die and bury the remains. There were living, breathing people who needed help more.

Jack waved to his small group, and pointed them towards the tree line. He turned to tell John to post a guard to ensure no surprises were waiting in the rest of the forest, but the man was no longer there. Jack whipped around and spotted John. He had taken one of the small landing boats and was rowing furiously back toward the ship.

* * *

  
Daniel was attempting to help the queen draw more information from Druhin when footsteps clattered down the hall and Sir John hurried into the room. He had gone to the mainland with Jack to recover the survivors, as Kate, Catherine and Laura were preparing the ship’s hold to accommodate the villagers for the journey to Atlantis. John’s sudden appearance made everyone jump in alarm, but the young man’s eyes focused on the queen and he spoke to her as though no one else was in the room.

“Majesty, you need to come with me.”

Elizabeth blinked for a moment. “Sir John, is something amiss?” It was clear she meant something beyond the Wraith attack.

He shook his head. “Forgive me, Majesty, but I believe you need to see the village yourself.”

Daniel and Captain Lorne both began to protest, fear for Elizabeth’s safety making Daniel somewhat frantic. If any of the Wraith had remained behind, or if this was some sort of trap...

Elizabeth allowed them to speak for a minute before she raised a hand to call for silence. Her gaze locked with John’s and for a long moment there was no movement in the cabin as the two looked at one another. It unsettled Daniel that he could not grasp precisely what was passing between his cousin and this man.

She nodded once. “Master Druhin, we shall proceed to the mainland together. Captain?” Daniel watched as Lorne swallowed any remaining protests and accepted the queen’s decision. Daniel wished there was some way to prevent Elizabeth from seeing whatever catastrophe was on the mainland, but the look in her eyes warned him that this was not the time to test his cousin’s patience.

* * *

  
Years of training were all that kept Lorne from being distracted from his duty by the carnage around him. His sole purpose was to protect the queen’s safety. And there was nothing he could do for the poor bastards of Hoff at this point anyway.

The queen did not venture into the village but stood on the outskirts staring at the rubble with a handkerchief pressed against her mouth. Lorne remained behind her, unmoving, even though his stomach rolled unpleasantly. Lady Laura became violently ill and had to be escorted away by Lady Katherine. They had retreated to the boat, which was being guarded by two of his own men.

Lord Daniel had gone to converse with Lord Jonathan, so the queen was alone save for Lorne and Sir John, who was standing respectfully two steps behind her.

When at length she turned from the ruins, Lorne saw tear tracks on her face, but her expression was one of terrifying rage. Even John seemed to wilt slightly under it.

“I am sorry, Majesty, but I felt... what the Hoffans said did not convey...” he sputtered into silence as the queen raised her head.

“I understand,” she told him quietly. “You should have spoken to Lord Jonathan before returning to the ship, given the circumstances, but you were right.” She glanced over her shoulder and her eyes narrowed. “Otherwise I might not have received this message,” she added cryptically.

* * *

  
Jonas Quinn had come to Atalan two months ago, when the new queen’s coronation was imminent. Though not able to get work in Atlantis itself, many of the villages across the country held smaller celebrations in honor of their new lady’s long-awaited ascension, and that meant work for traveling players and musicians like him.

He had stopped in Hoff on his way towards the great city of Atlantis, intending to at least see the famed towers of the palace for himself. He had been well paid these past several weeks, and had seen and heard much of Atalan. The ancestors had blessed him with a near-perfect memory, and he soaked up the new places eagerly.

He wished at the moment that his mind would be able to erase what he had seen last night. He’d heard tell of the Wraith long before he had ever set foot on Atalan soil, but living through an attack had been beyond terrifying. The enormous warriors had slaughtered anyone who fell in their path, while their leaders cut off escape routes from the village, trapping the Hoffans like cattle.

Meril, who had been hosting Jonas during his stay, had died fighting against two Wraith, in order to open a way out of the village for Jonas to take the man’s wife and two children out into the shelter of the forest.

He sat with them now, huddled in the shadows of the trees, watching as men in uniforms approached the line of survivors standing guard. Jonas had Meril’s small daughter in his lap. She had crawled into his arms as dawn arrived, and he had been humming absently. As he began to sing quietly, others had come, the women and children who had escaped the village, drawing around him in a loose semicircle. Now they watched apprehensively as the men stopped just outside the trees.

A tall, thin man with graying hair, wearing a uniform different from the others, drew nearer. He was speaking to one of the women, Perna, who had organized the frightened survivors once the Wraith had gone. “We will move the women and children to the ship first,” the man said to her. “We can fit six or seven people per boat.”

“Yes, my lord,” Perna said, beckoning to Meril’s wife and the others to get up.

“We are going to take you to Atlantis,” the man called out. “There are row boats at the shore to take you to the ship. Once you reach the city, the physicians will tend to the injured.”

More men, these dressed in black uniforms, approached along with a tall man who seemed familiar to Jonas somehow. Like the lord speaking with Perna, he was not dressed in black, but carried a sword and wore the tunic of a knight of Atalan.

Before Jonas could discern from where he knew the man, a young woman stepped into the small clearing. Several people gasped and Perna curtsied. The rest followed suit. Jonas started, realizing this could only be the young queen.

Queen Elizabeth looked about at the tired, dirty faces of the ragged group. Her own face was grave. “My countrymen,” she said, her voice low, but carrying through the stillness, “I cannot begin to express the pain I feel at this sight. I know it is nothing compared to what you all must be feeling, having lost your homes and your loved ones so brutally.” The queen glanced towards the ruins of the village. “I will not promise you vengeance. I will not promise that you will never face such evil again. But the blood of our people cries out, and I do promise to do all in my power to free our lands from this scourge. You have lived with the terror of the Wraith for far too long, and it is past time that something was done.”

There were murmurs of assent and gratitude. The queen nodded to the tall lord and turned away, escorted by a short, stocky man who must have been part of her personal guard.

Jonas hefted the little girl in his arms, feeling Meril’s wife and son clinging to him on the other side. His entire body ached from being awake all night. He wanted nothing more than something hot to eat and a place to lie down. Perhaps he could rest for a while on the ship.

The dark-haired man was helping organize the children, many of whom were now orphaned. One little girl had been sitting huddled under the shelter of a boulder since before dawn. The man approached her. “Hello, little one. What’s your name?”

Torn between fear and curiosity, she said slowly, “Anna.”

He smiled. “Anna, that’s a pretty name. Do you want to go see the queen’s new ship?”

The little girl nodded and he held out a hand, drawing her from her crouch. When she stumbled, he lifted her in his arms and Jonas saw a dark look pass over the man’s face as he marched towards the shore.

Perhaps when he had rested, Jonas would recall where he had seen this man before.

* * *

  
It was a very good thing that the _Queen Margaret_ had been able to pick up the survivors of Hoff, for a strong wind came from the north that night with a deep cold on its heels. A thin layer of frost coated the island of Atlantis, something Jack noticed almost as soon as he was roused out of bed by a servant. “The queen requests your presence,” the young man said, almost apologetically.

He did not say to the servant that he had held the queen in his arms when she was but two weeks old, when he was new to her father’s service. He found it difficult to imagine that she would request _anyone’s_ presence when the sun was barely up, especially on such a chilly morning.

On most mornings, he and Lord George and Daniel attended the queen in her sitting room, but this morning they were sent to her private audience chamber, not far from the hall where the college met. To Jack’s surprise, Lord Robert Kinsey, Lord Bertram Samuels, and Lord Richard Woolsey were there as well, though the two groups did not mingle. Kinsey and his supporters were smarting a little these days, as it was becoming increasingly apparent that the queen had little use for the former regent, despite his ten years of experience in running the country.

Or pretending to run it, at any rate.

Jack looked at Daniel as though asking him a question; Daniel shrugged. It seemed that Elizabeth had informed no one of the purpose of this conference, though he had a suspicion that it was related to Hoff.

Before anyone could address the subject, the doors swung open and the queen entered, dressed in black with a heavy red mantle over her gown. She looked neither right nor left as she walked, flanked on either side by her ladies-in-waiting and her guards. She simply passed through the group and took her seat in the only chair in the room. Her skin appeared even paler than usual against the black and red, and Jack thought she looked as though she had not slept at all.

“My lords,” she said, without waiting for any of them to address her, “we must act with all haste.”

After a moment of silence from the men, Jack said, “I concur, your Majesty.”

Daniel and George nodded, murmuring their assent, and Jack was somewhat surprised to see Woolsey giving a very small nod of his own. He did not doubt that Elizabeth had noticed. “Lord Robert,” she said, “you were in my place for ten years while the Wraith plundered my people. What would you have done in this case?”

Jack stiffened a little. While he agreed that Kinsey needed to be taken to task for ten years of ineffective defense of the realm, Elizabeth’s chastisement was clumsy and obvious, more likely to breed further resentment and danger for herself.

Kinsey, however, missed not a beat. “I would see first to the survivors, Majesty,” he replied smoothly. “Their safety and well-being should be foremost in our minds.”

“Their well-being I have seen to,” Elizabeth said. “I have had word from Lady Teyla this hour that Athos will be able to shelter them for the winter. But the safety of my subjects is not such a simple issue, and I believe it is a task for which we are ill prepared.”

She glanced at Hammond briefly, who took it as his cue to speak. “We have enough ships to protect Atlantis from any invading force, my lady, and I would be reluctant to remove such forces from the island,” he said. “I believe you were right in interpreting yesterday’s attack as a message to you, a challenge that the Wraith will not stand aside simply because Atalan has a new monarch. We cannot leave this place undefended, lest harm fall to you as well.”

Elizabeth began to shake her head, but a look from Daniel silenced her objection to this. “Very well,” she replied.

“What must be determined is what will be feasible,” Jack said. “I confess I know little of ship building, but your father had a captain named Pendergast who worked in the shipyard as a boy, before he joined the navy. I know of no man of Atalan more intimately acquainted with our own resources, or how best to utilize them to build a great force at sea.”

“Then why was he not here the last eight years?” Kinsey demanded. “Why did he leave the navy to crumble?”

Exercising tremendous restraint, Jack did not say that if the navy had crumbled because of one man, his old friend Lionel was certainly not that man. Instead, he explained to the queen, “He was injured in one of the few sea battles in the Ori war. When they finally had to take his leg, he went back to his family’s lands, along the border with Iolan.” He did not add that the regency had hardly been a time when soldiers and sailors had been encouraged to remain in service. Jack had been holding the army together by sheer strength of will, but the navy had lacked a strong hand to shield it from Kinsey’s predations.

Elizabeth nodded. “That is reasonable,” she said, with a dark glance in Kinsey’s direction. This time, he did not take it so serenely, instead bristling under her obvious disapproval. “Would Pendergast come here to serve as an advisor?” she asked of Jack.

He nodded. “I believe so.”

Daniel folded his arms across his chest and took a step forward. “Your Majesty,” he said, “Lady Teyla’s offer is most generous, but we cannot expect to trespass on her good will forever. We need a plan to settle the Hoffans somewhere permanently, whether they rebuild their village or find a new home.”

“I cannot imagine the Hoffans wishing to return to that place to live day to day with the memories of such a tragedy,” Kinsey interjected. “This will mean negotiating with some of the members of the neighboring territories to yield parts of their land for a new settlement. Convincing the lords to give up any part of their holdings will not be an easy task.”

There was a tell-tale flash in the queen’s eyes, but Lord George cleared his throat. “The mayor of the village indicated to me that his people wished to return to their own land and rebuild. He seemed to feel that refusing to flee was the more positive approach.”

“I know,” the queen replied, and then she shifted directions slightly. “Yesterday, before we knew the extent of the devastation, we discussed the possibility of having some part of the army join with the Hoffans to rebuild. I see no reason why we could not do so now.”

“For the same reason we cannot send the navy out to defend the coast now,” Kinsey said, sounding more and more irritated. “Every man you send away from this palace is a man who cannot defend any of us here.”

“Kinsey, hold your tongue!” Elizabeth suddenly exclaimed, as though scolding a small child. “If you can speak of nothing but yourself and your own safety and profit, I would have you keep silent in my presence.”

Silence did fall, and it seemed for a few moments that no one in the room was breathing. Jack kept his eyes trained on Elizabeth, who seemed immediately to know her mistake. She was tired and frustrated, and the temper she had worked so hard to master as a child had instead mastered her.

George and Daniel both leaned forward as though to say something, but Jack jumped in first, worried that either of them might scold her for her lack of discretion in front of Kinsey. “Majesty, we have Master McKay with us from Iolan for the very task of rebuilding your navy,” he reminded her. “Perhaps you should speak to him. He would know best the requirements of his designs, and when Pendergast arrives he can also advise you on the execution of these plans.”

For a moment she looked relieved that he had saved her, and she nodded. “I thank you for your counsel, my lords,” she said. “You are dismissed.”

Kinsey, Samuels, and Woolsey exited speedily, and Elizabeth did not sit still long enough for the rest of them to speak to her about anything. She bolted out of the room so quickly that her attendants had trouble getting to the door before it had closed.

“Her first mistake,” Daniel said quietly, though he could not mask his disappointment. “She was bound to make it eventually.”

“She has done what we have all wished to do since Kinsey took the regency from you, Daniel,” Jack replied.

“But in front of two of his closest allies,” George said, “this could either go in our favor or badly against.”

Daniel nodded. “One of us should speak to her.”

“I’ll do it,” Jack offered. When the other two looked at him oddly, he asked, “What?”

George just shook his head with a slight smile.

Jack hastened out of the hall, hoping to catch the queen in the corridors, but she had already disappeared. He headed toward the nearest garden, thinking that she had perhaps gone there for a few moments of solitude.

He was right, as it happened, but when he got there he was too late. Her attendants were standing some distance back when he saw her, for Sir John was standing nearby. His first instinct was to interrupt, but he knew Elizabeth well enough to know that if he disturbed her now, he would get a tongue-lashing the like of which he had not experienced since leaving his mother’s house. But Jack could not shake an uneasy feeling whenever he saw the man with the queen, even when he was not pressing the boundaries of propriety with her. Perhaps it was because the queen seemed to yield so easily to his influence, when no one knew very much about him.

Whatever it was, Jack’s uneasiness only increased as he watched John offer Elizabeth his arm and saw the grateful look on the young queen’s face as her knight led her away.

* * *

  
Jonas Quinn found himself in one of the courtyard gardens that seemed nearly as prevalent as the balconies in the palace, looking for things with which to amuse the Hoffan children. The queen had suggested a ballroom as a place where the children could play, as it was too cold to do so outside, but unfortunately there was precious little for them to do aside from run around and look at the friezes on the walls. The fascination with that was long past, so Perna had gone to the queen’s dressmaker to get a few yards of muslin while he collected anything he could find from the outdoors which might be useful for making new toys for the children. The little ones would probably love just making them, while the older ones would benefit from the distraction if nothing else.

And that explained why he had climbed high up into a huge oak tree in the corner of the courtyard, where he could find long, slender branches which could surely be useful for something. The tree had not shed its leaves yet, and the golden foliage was still thick enough that he could barely see the ivy-covered walls across the courtyard.

He could still hear, however, and when he heard footsteps he froze. He might have climbed down from the tree, but he recognized the voices of the pair all too readily. The queen had entered with the knight who had been on the mainland the previous morning, helping gather the children into the landing boats – the man who had seemed so familiar to Jonas.

“You made a mistake,” he said. “That is not the end of the world.”

“My cousin and Lord George spent so long trying to teach me how to rein in my feelings,” she replied. “It was critical, they said, that I not allow my heart to rule over the facts. And the fact now is that Kinsey still holds sway over many in the college of lords, and I cannot function as queen with them about my neck, ready to hang me at any moment.” She huffed out a breath so loudly that Jonas could hear it. “This was not the kind of mistake I could allow right now.”

There was something about how openly she spoke to the knight that made him wonder what exactly this relationship was. Had Queen Elizabeth been a little older, a little more settled into her reign, Jonas might have thought that she had taken a lover. And the almost intimate tone of the knight’s response would only confirm such an idea.

“He needed to be put in his place, my lady. And only you could do it.” It occurred to Jonas that this man had an accent that was out of place anywhere along this northern coast, one he had not heard anywhere in Atalan, for that matter.

“That is not the point, Sir John. I simply don’t know what to do.”

“About what?” Sir John asked. Jonas had not heard the man’s name previously, and now it troubled him. But the pair were only a few feet away from the base of the tree, and Jonas had to stay as still as he could. He did not wish the queen to know that he had heard any part of this conversation.

“Any of this,” she replied, furiously. “I don’t know the first thing about building a navy. What I know of defending a country I know only from theory. I cannot manage the college of lords, and all I know about the Wraith is that this attack on Hoff was a message to me.”

“Then speak to Lord Jonathan,” the knight said. “He is there to help you defend this country. Speak with that Iolanian shipwright. He will be building your navy, so he is the one who will know what it takes to do so. Lord Daniel and Lord George can advise you on how to handle the noblemen. As for the Wraith. . .” He trailed off for a moment. “Do they not know that this will only serve to strengthen your resolve? I have not known you long, my lady, but I have seen enough to know that you will not be deterred by this.”

“I assumed my throne but three weeks ago,” she replied sharply. “They know nothing of me. I can only guess that they fear I will be utterly unlike Kinsey, an expectation I plan on living up to.” Jonas could hear the frustration in her voice. “And yet. . . And yet I know not what I will do. What can be done to stop men who have no decency?”

“You will find a way,” the man said confidently.

“It is not so easy as that.”

“My family had a saying, my lady,” he replied. “‘In discipline, knowledge, and honor lies true strength.’ You and those around you have these in abundance.”

As John’s words reached his ears, Jonas stiffened. That was a turn of phrase he’d read once before – on a coat of arms on display in Caldora. As quietly as he could, he stretched to the right to peer through an opening in the leaves, and he saw John raise the queen’s bare hand, pressing a kiss to the back of it, his eyes never leaving hers. Suddenly Jonas knew he had met the man before: in the royal court of Henry of Caldora. It had been some years since he’d been there, but John had a face and voice and manner that were unmistakable.

The two left the courtyard, and Jonas was only left to wonder what John, son and heir of the Marquis of Sheppard, one of the most powerful Caldoran provinces, was doing in the service of the Queen of Atalan.


	2. Friend or Foe (2/3): stargate_ren

Kate wished fervently that Laura was with them as she waited with the queen for Master McKay. Elizabeth was pacing back and forth, worrying the signet ring around her finger endlessly. Her face was set in deep lines and she radiated discontent with every limb. But Laura was meeting with the dressmakers and Kate was left to manage the queen by herself.

Captain Lorne looked at Kate worriedly. Kate had not seen Elizabeth in such a state since the hours preceding her coronation. For Lorne, who had been promoted to captain of her personal guard after that event, seeing her this upset was a new experience and he appeared at a loss.

He sidled over to Kate unobtrusively. “My lady, is it wise for her Majesty to wait out here in public like this just now?”

Lorne had been present in the audience chamber that morning just as Kate had, and knew precisely what it was that had the sovereign so discomfited. Kate suspected he was less concerned about Elizabeth’s physical safety than her mental state.

Kate kept her voice low, hoping Elizabeth would not overhear. “She needs the free air to help calm her.”

Lorne met her gaze, his anxiety plain. “Kate, what should I do?”

Her face heated slightly at his use of her given name. Impulsively, she put a hand on his arm. “Nothing. She needs us to be composed right now, you most of all.”

Lorne growled, “I don’t know that she has any reason to be upset. That bastard had it coming-” He stopped abruptly, looking embarrassed. “I beg your pardon, my lady.”

He placed his hand over hers briefly and squeezed it in apology. She shook her head, disentangling their hands before the contact could become distracting. “There is no need, Captain. I feel the same way.”

The argument with Lord Robert had upset Elizabeth deeply, but not because Elizabeth genuinely regretted anything she had said to Kinsey. Kate knew enough of politics to know that Elizabeth’s outburst at the former regent had been a huge diplomatic error, even though half the realm and the entire palace likely agreed with the sentiment behind the words. Still, the queen could not afford such shows of pettiness and spite. Lord Robert retained a great deal of influence among the nobility, and antagonizing him would help no one.

And Kate knew full well that the queen had hardly slept the night before. Worry about the Wraith and how to handle the Hoffan refugees had kept her awake until the late hours. Elizabeth was exhausted, making it easier for her to give in to her emotions. In a few more hours, she would compose her mind enough to repair the mistake and move on.

It was not the time to speak of such things, however, as Rodney McKay appeared on the path leading from the palace towards the entrance to the old shipyard, where Elizabeth and her guard waited. “Majesty, you sent for me?” he asked, bowing slightly when he arrived.

“Yes,” Elizabeth nodded, beckoning him to join her in looking over the facilities. Few people ever came down to the shipyards these days, a testament to where Lord Robert’s priorities had been for the past ten years. As a result, the place had a distinctly eerie feeling, heightened by the missing planks of wood and empty spaces where equipment had been removed (likely stolen) over time.

The queen took a deep breath. “I apologize for not speaking to you sooner, Master McKay.” Kate saw Elizabeth’s lips twist slightly over the first words, but she settled herself. “I was occupied with meeting the ambassadors and dealing with other internal matters.”

“Indeed, I was told as much.”

“But I now find myself in need of your counsel.” Elizabeth gestured towards the port, which was on a different side of the island. “How long did it take you to build the _Queen Margaret_?”

“Five months, my lady. That is from the date the keel of the ship was laid until her masts were attached. But there was a month prior to that when the necessary supplies were being collected,” McKay answered swiftly.

“And how many men were required?”

“We had almost one hundred twenty men working on her, not including myself and the liaisons from the Imperial navy who were watching the proceedings.” McKay’s mouth turned downward even farther and Kate suppressed a smile. This man was not terribly adept at concealing his emotions. Prince Radek had explained that the admirals of the Iolan navy had felt such a small, lightweight ship was of no real use to them, hence Iolan’s willingness to give the ship and her designs to their ally as a gesture of continued good will. Though, Kate strongly suspected that the prince had been largely responsible for the gift, on the grounds that it might help his possible courtship of the pretty young queen in the future.

“In your estimation how long would it take to build another ship of the same size here?” Elizabeth asked. Kate suspected she was leading McKay somewhere.

“Majesty, I do not like to speculate, but at the outside I would say at least six months, more likely eight.” When Elizabeth’s face fell noticeably, he hastened to add, “I have examined the shipyards here in the past three weeks. It is clear they were stripped of much equipment over the years, and in places the framework is rotting. Some of the ramparts will need to be replaced entirely. In addition, all supplies will have to be brought across the bridge to the city, and I will also need to locate craftsmen to do the work.”

“I wager finding men for labor will not be an issue, especially during the cold season,” the queen said dryly. “The raw lumber and metal may be another story.”

McKay nodded. “The process of moving materials from the mainland to the shipyards would be simplified if the ferry was at my disposal. From studying the layout of the yards, I believe there was a cargo vessel employed here in the past, rather than relying solely on horse power to convey material from the shore over the land bridge. If both methods were used simultaneously, the process could be sped up immensely.”

He appeared on the verge of saying more, but Elizabeth was clearly thinking deeply and he paused. At length, she asked him, “How many ships do you believe would be necessary to secure the entire coastline?”

He answered quickly, “I am not a naval tactician, my lady.”

“I am asking for your opinion, master,” Elizabeth repeated impatiently. “I was given to understand that seacraft was virtually in the blood of every Iolan male,” she added with a touch of humor.

“Well,” McKay preened just a bit. “The navy would need at least ten ships of the _Queen Margaret_ ’s class, and two if not four more heavy warships,” he said after consideration.

Elizabeth fixed McKay with a look. “How many men would you need to complete such a task in the coming winter?”

“What? It cannot be done, Majesty,” McKay blurted angrily. Lorne shifted behind them, uncomfortable, but Elizabeth, Kate observed, didn’t seem to mind the other man’s temper as he continued to rant. “First off, ice will begin to form in the seas after solstice, slowing down transfer from the mainland, and even with a covered shipyard, the weather will prevent some of the work. The sheer amount of supplies that will need to be assembled is more than Atalan has at its disposal. The resources simply aren’t there, much less the manpower. Even with an entire village now displaced and in need of work, this is specialized craft, at least some of it. And there seem to be almost no craftsmen in the country who have been trained in these arts, or if there were, they have long since scattered. Training apprentices will take even more time, not to mention that building war ships is a much more complicated matter than the smaller vessels.” He waved his hands in the air. “There is no way.”

Everyone blinked at the end of this outpouring of words. Exasperated, the queen responded with equal bluntness. “Then tell me what is feasible.”

McKay looked down at the port critically for a moment. “Three, perhaps four light ships by the spring. No more.”

Elizabeth drew a deep breath and nodded. “Very well.”

He added hurriedly, “That is if I have full access to the materials I need, and sufficient manpower, Majesty. And I will need assistants to help me, as I am not familiar with Atalan’s disposition of resources.”

Surprisingly, Elizabeth’s lips quirked upwards. “You will have it, Master McKay. I believe I know of just the person who can help you.”

* * *

  
Rodney McKay could not help but wonder if he should have paid more attention to his tutors on the subject of history when he was a boy. Perhaps then he would have been prepared for the strain of madness that was prevalent in the line of the Atalanian monarchs. Well, either madness or brilliance; he was not entirely certain which just yet.

He would admit that the young queen had surprised him. Prince Radek had spent hours singing the praises of the woman whose service he had entered into, that she was a very intelligent young lady who needed all the allies she could possibly assemble in the coming years as she established her reign and brought some order back to her troubled lands. Still, given the short span of her reign, he had expected her to move cautiously. Rodney had come to Atalan to direct the reconstruction of the country’s navy, but it was a duty that he had expected to take the better half of a decade. Now, given the ambition he had glimpsed in Queen Elizabeth’s green eyes, he was wondering just how much he should revise that estimate.

Four ships. The queen wanted four ships by the time the spring returned to Atlantis to thaw the icy seas. Given the state of the shipyards, Rodney had serious doubts as to whether or not her wish could be granted. Even if she put everything he needed at his disposal, assembling the supplies and workmen alone could take the better part of the winter.

Rodney sighed and quickened his pace back to the quarters he had been granted by the queen. He had a large work room to store his plans, sketches, and books, as well as a drawing table, where he could work out problems for the construction projects ahead of him. There were also a few smaller rooms off the work space for his own private use, all of them comfortable and tastefully decorated. He had no doubt that he would freeze once the cold winter months set in, but at least he would freeze in relative comfort.

Possibly the only inconvenience his rooms provided him was that they were located quite a distance from the main areas of the palace. Queen Elizabeth had informed him that she had an assistant in mind to aid him in gathering all the supplies and workers he would need to begin the construction of the first new ships and that she would send this assistant to him immediately. Given the distance he had to walk to return to his rooms, he imagined that the man would already be there waiting for him.

He finally came upon the door that led into his workroom. As soon as he caught sight of it, Rodney stopped short. It was slightly ajar, and he was certain he had closed it securely when he had left for his audience with Queen Elizabeth.

Panic began to rise up in him. Had someone broken into his room, bent on destroying his materials in the hopes of stopping the rebuilding of Atalan’s fleet? Prince Radek had given him enough information on the country’s political situation that he knew that there were some in the palace who would benefit from stopping the queen’s plans. Rodney glared at the door. Well, even if they did destroy all of his sketches and plans, they had forgotten his most valuable resource: his own brilliant mind. What they destroyed in his rooms he could replace, given time.

He inched forward a few steps, then stopped, looking back down the hall. Perhaps he should summon one of the guards before entering. Whoever had trespassed might be dangerous. But then, on the other hand, he could hope to catch the intruder by surprise, and perhaps stop them from inflicting more damage.

Squaring his shoulders, Rodney continued towards the door. He took a deep breath and then burst into the room, speaking in a loud, offended tone, “What do you think you -” Seeing the other person standing in the work room, he stopped and stared in utter shock.

It was a woman. A woman wearing green, with blonde hair just visible under her veil, and with perhaps the bluest eyes he had ever seen. But what truly caught his attention were the papers she had spread out on his drawing table.

Rodney’s eyes narrowed and he marched forward, all of his earlier trepidation gone. “Excuse me, madam,” he said angrily, “may I ask what you are doing within my private work room? And why have you taken it upon yourself to look at things you cannot possibly understand?”

The woman’s eyes narrowed and he saw irritation flash across her pleasant features before it vanished behind a diplomatic mask. “Master McKay,” she said, “I beg your pardon for startling you with my unexpected entrance. I received Queen Elizabeth’s orders to come here and when I found that you had not arrived, I let myself in to await your arrival.”

Rodney fought the urge to stare at her blankly. He could not help but notice that she had failed to answer any of his questions, but what was this pretty, though no doubt silly, creature talking about? “Orders? What do you mean, her Majesty ordered you here?”

She smiled slightly in amusement. “I am Lady Samantha Carter, daughter of Sir Jacob Carter, knight of Atalan and her Majesty’s ambassador to the Tok’ra. The queen has ordered me to act as your liaison with our people, and to assist you in assembling the resources you require for the construction of your ships.”

Rodney lost his battle and he could only gape at her. A woman. Queen Elizabeth wanted him to do the impossible, and the aide she sent him for this endeavor was a woman. He was convinced now that he had definitely not listened the day his tutors had instructed him on the madness of the Atalanian monarchs.

“L-Lady,” he said at last, “what is this? I was not aware that the queen was interested in playing games with me while I rebuild her navy. How can a woman help me build the ships that will make Atalan the power it once was?”

Lady Samantha glared at him. “I assure you, Master McKay,” she replied coolly, “her Majesty is not jesting with you in calling on me to work with you on this project. I am fully qualified. I serve Lord Jonathan of Neill as one of his aides. I have been educated by the Asgard Order since I was but a small child.” She smiled falsely at him. “You need not worry. I shall not fall behind when you become lost in your work.”

Her education had been overseen by the Asgard. Rodney could not decide whether he should be jealous or amazed. Until recent times, the presence of the ancient order within Iolan had been extensive. Since the last Ori war, however, the Asgard had withdrawn from Iolan and many other nations, retreating into the interior of Atalan, where the royal family had always honored them. In Rodney’s own childhood, there had only been a single Asgard representative at the Iolanian court, a quiet, contemplative man by the name of Freyr, and he had departed before Rodney had reached his tenth summer.

He did not doubt the truthfulness of Lady Samantha’s words. To lie about such a thing would be a foolish move, as it could easily be verified if he so chose. If the Asgard had deemed her worthy of their attentions, then her intelligence had to rival his, for his mother had always believed that the Asgard would have taken both him and his sister as apprentices, had they remained long enough to see their intelligence.

Queen Elizabeth had agreed to put all resources at his disposal, and she had likely just given him one of her greatest in the person of this Lady Samantha Carter.

Rodney finally spoke. “I see. Well, Lady Samantha, I suppose we can come to something of an understanding. Perhaps there is someone on this isle of at least a moderate intelligence. Very refreshing.”

He nearly laughed out loud when her blue eyes darkened and her fists clenched, as though she would like nothing better than to wrap her hands around his neck. Perhaps, he thought, working with this woman would not be such a trial after all. Not if she could amuse him so easily, not if her beauty was real and not a trick of the light.

* * *

  
When Kate returned with Elizabeth to her chambers, Laura was already there, seemingly knee-deep in fabrics and trims and all manner of dressmaking paraphernalia. Kate glanced at Elizabeth, who was smiling for the first time all day. “Laura,” Elizabeth said, “I thought you were meeting with the seamstress, not bringing her entire workshop here.”

“I could not make up my mind,” the redhead replied indignantly, her hands on her hips as she puffed at loose strands of hair that had fallen in her face. “She packed up all this stuff with some servants and told me to get back to her when I had made decisions.”

As Kate helped her out of her mantle, Elizabeth said, “Laura, you’ve never cared much about clothing before. Why start now?”

“That’s just the problem!” Laura replied. “I _don’t_ care that much, and I simply do not want to bothered with all these trivialities!” With her last word she swiped her hand across a stack of fabrics and then lunged to keep it from falling over.

There was some amount of truth to that, Kate realized. Laura usually managed to get one of them to make clothing choices for her. “Well,” Kate said, “let us see if we can help you somehow.”

The three of them got to work at sorting through the sea of fabrics, and soon they were sitting on the floor amid little towers of every color imaginable, save green and black, which were not worn by brides in Atalan. “Laura, is there anything you know you _don’t_ like?” Elizabeth asked.

“The brocades, except for this one,” Laura replied, fingering a heavy white fabric. “And the pinks.”

“Oh, but why?” Kate teased.

Laura made a face. “I should make the two of you try to pick the fabrics for your wedding gowns now,” she said. “It’s not as simple as–”

Her words stopped abruptly as Kate pointed to a soft pink silk and Elizabeth to a rich blue. “Very well,” Laura said. “Then you are ready to marry Sir Marcus, Kate, and you, my lady, to marry. . . someone.”

For once they did not tease Kate for the soft flush on her cheeks, possibly because Elizabeth had unexpectedly turned a brighter pink. “My lady,” Laura said, sounding scandalized. “Is there someone you wish to tell us about?”

“Oh, don’t be absurd,” said Elizabeth. “If there were someone, you would know.”

Kate and Laura shared a look. “Prince Radek did give you an impressive ship,” Kate began.

“And he is desperately in love with you,” Laura added dramatically.

“Stop it,” Elizabeth replied, her blush not abating. “Radek is a friend.”

Kate smiled sympathetically, but Laura plowed on. “Or perhaps it’s Sir John,” she suggested, as though the thought had never occurred to her.

Elizabeth snorted. “A commoner?” she said. “Even a commoner raised to the knighthood? It would be political suicide. I could sooner marry a Caldoran.”

The strength of her rebuttal surprised Kate and Laura both, and they silently agreed to stop teasing the queen about it. Then the three of them started a process of elimination with the fabrics so that Laura did not have quite so many options to sift through. It worked remarkably well, but Kate noticed that Elizabeth’s mind appeared to be elsewhere. She could not tell if the queen was still pondering the morning’s events or if she had drifted further back to memories even more unpleasant. Kate was a little disheartened to realize that she hoped Elizabeth’s mind was still on the former.

Eventually Laura flopped over, her head landing on Elizabeth’s lap. “Why can I not marry Carson without having to have a wedding?” she whined. “I could wear burlap and I think he would not object.”

Kate and Elizabeth looked at each other and started giggling. Laura sat up, looking indignant again. “Yes, because it would be easier to get me out of than a fancy gown,” she said. “Honestly, they say _I_ am the bad influence in this group. You were both thinking it.”

“Sadly, yes,” Elizabeth confessed. “But I am sure that when Kate and I marry, you will torment us equally.”

Kate lifted a piece of pearly, blue-grey silk from a stack and held it up against Laura’s neck. “What do you think of this one, Elizabeth?” she asked. “I think it looks well with her complexion.”

“It reminds me a little of robins’ eggs,” the queen replied, with a little smile on her face. “For a wedding in the spring, it will be perfect.”

“Is this not the color you’re wearing now, Kate?” Laura asked.

“You’ve always liked this dress.”

“I suppose you have a point.”

As Laura started to look through the small stack of drawings the seamstress had provided, Kate took a moment to look at Elizabeth, who seemed to have drawn herself inward again. “My lady, are you all right?” she asked. “Can I get you anything?”

Elizabeth shook her head. “I’m fine.” Kate glanced down at her friend’s lap and saw that she was picking at her fingernails and looked back up at the queen’s face. Elizabeth stilled her hands. “I have never labored under any delusions that ruling this country would be an easy task,” she said, letting out a shaky breath. “I know I have been considered old enough to be a wife and mother for some time now, but sometimes I still feel like a girl. As though I should be doing my parents’ bidding instead of issuing orders. And I cannot help the feeling that there are those in my government who would agree that I am too young and inexperienced.”

It was clear to them all whom Elizabeth was referring to. Kate did her best to speak casually. “Did not Lord Daniel say just a week ago that the only cure for inexperience was experience?”

“True,” Elizabeth said, likely remembering her cousin’s small rant on the subject. “And that is something I am acquiring at an alarming rate.

Laura reached over then and squeezed Elizabeth’s fingers. “Just remember, my lady, you will have the last laugh,” she said. “Have you seen the way Kinsey eats? I give him two more years of natural life, and no longer!”

Elizabeth burst out laughing then, a sound that Kate was grateful to hear. Right now, she did not need them as councilors. She needed them as friends.

* * *

  
Marcus had been in the royal guard for three and a half years – and in Elizabeth’s personal detail for most of that period – but he had seen more unguarded behavior from her in the last week than in all the time previous to that. Kate had encouraged him to remain calm about it, to let the queen exorcise her frustrations, but now even the imperturbable lady-in-waiting seemed a little unnerved by watching the queen pacing slowly up and down the pier, waiting for the ferry to arrive. She was far too tense, and with everything that was happening she was not likely to have a moment to relax in the near future.

Kate and Laura were standing on his left, and Marcus could tell by the way Laura was fidgeting that the silence was bothering her. He suppressed a smile, thinking to himself that he had never seen her comfortably quiet unless she were asleep or standing beside the queen’s throne. And not always then.

True to form, Laura shifted from one foot to the other and sighed heavily. “I thought Captain Pendergast had a reputation for being early,” she complained.

“Is there a problem?” Marcus asked, a small smile on his face. “Are you anxious to resume the preparations for your wedding?”

She curled her nose at that prospect. “If one more woman reminds me that I should not wear pink roses in my hair for the ceremony. . .”

He shared an amused glance with Kate. “I must confess, Laura, that I cannot imagine you with flowers in your hair at all,” he replied. “Of course, the first time I saw you, you had bits of dead leaves in your hair, and that look was quite fetching.”

He knew by the way Laura’s eyes narrowed that she would pay him back for that eventually, but it was worth it for the quiet snicker he got from Kate. Of late he had been going out of his way to make her smile or laugh, particularly when they both knew she did not wish to. But he would not let himself think too deeply about what was driving him to behave so with her, or more importantly, why she was allowing it.

There was a cry from down the way, and Marcus looked to one of the guards situated in a wide perimeter around them. The man nodded, and Marcus walked forward, bowing slightly when he reached the queen. “My lady, the ferry has been spotted,” he said. “I would ask you to step back and wait with Lady Kate and Lady Laura until the passengers have disembarked.”

She clearly did not wish to, but took his arm anyway and let him lead her back. Getting her to do things she did not want to do but were for her own safety was probably the hardest part of his task now. Marshall Sumner had been with the royal family for years before Elizabeth’s birth and had served her personally from her childhood. He had rarely bothered with the niceties of persuasion, and had not needed to, so he had not had many problems getting Elizabeth to obey. With Marcus, however, her independent streak had already surfaced more than he liked.

But this time she waited at his side without complaint as the ferry pulled up to the dock and the passengers stepped out. Last among them was a grey-haired man with a wooden leg, who stood staring at the _Queen Margaret_ for a long time. Finally the queen called, “Captain Pendergast, how do you like my boat?”

He turned to her with a scowl. “ _Ship_ , madam, _ship_ ,” Pendergast replied. He pointed at the ferry as he walked alongside it. “That is a boat. What you see anchored out there is a work of art.”

Elizabeth smiled. “So her builder reminds me daily.”

Pendergast had by then reached them, but he cast one more loving glance at the _Queen Margaret_ before bowing to Elizabeth. “She is a magnificent prize, my lady,” he said. “A thing of beauty. Any true seaman would be proud to serve on her.”

“Well, Captain,” the queen replied, “my ship is not the only one you are here to meet. Allow me to introduce Lady Laura Cadman and Lady Katherine Heightmeyer.”

She gestured to the ladies in their turn, and the sailor nodded to each of them. “And this young gentleman looks a little familiar,” he remarked, looking at Marcus. Marcus had never seen the man before, so he was not quite sure how that was possible.

“This is Sir Marcus Lorne, captain of my guard,” the queen said.

“Lorne, eh?” said Pendergast. “Did you have an older brother in the navy?”

“A cousin, actually,” Marcus replied. “When I was a boy, I wanted to follow him into the navy.” To the ladies, he added, “I could have been a crusty old sea captain by now.”

“Well, what changed your mind?” Pendergast asked.

He cast a sly look at Kate. “My cousin assured me there were prettier women at court than at sea.”

Kate blushed furiously at his implication while the captain guffawed. Laura was laughing outright, while the queen had averted her gaze, though her eyebrows were raised and she seemed to be smiling. “I like you, young man,” Pendergast pronounced. Marcus simply nodded and tried not to grin.

Elizabeth still looked amused, but Marcus could tell by the look in her eye that she was coming down to business. “Captain,” she said, “come with me down to the old shipyard. I am in need of your counsel.”

The queen let Pendergast set the pace, both of their walk and of their conversation. Lord Jonathan was waiting for them there, and when he spotted them he called out, “Lionel! Are you filling the queen’s head with old wives’ tales?”

“Of course,” said the captain. “She and these two ladies of hers will be old wives someday, after all.” When they had reached each other, the two men embraced, and Pendergast said, “It does my eyes good to see you, Jack.”

“And you, old friend.” Jack nodded to the queen. “Your Majesty?”

“Captain Pendergast,” she said, “will you give me your assessment of this place?”

Marcus could tell by the way Pendergast’s eyes scanned the place that he missed no detail. “My lady,” he replied at length, “I would say that whoever had the stewardship of this yard did a damn poor job and ought to be hanged for his trouble.” Marcus knew enough of his cousin to know that cursing, even before a monarch, was a habit most sailors could never break from.

“I assure you, sir, that you are not alone in that sentiment,” Elizabeth remarked dryly. “But I must have a navy, and to have one I must build one. This place is less vulnerable than any point on the mainland.”

That much was true. The shipyard was positioned between the land bridge and the island’s nearest point to the mainland, making it easy to defend from invaders with a few ships in the strait and a strategic force on the isthmus. What had brought it to this state was neglect, not attack.

The sound of a commotion filled Marcus’ ears, and he spun around to see what was going on, and nearly laughed. The queen did laugh softly when she saw Master McKay and Lady Samantha approaching them, arguing loudly and each gesturing wildly.

“I’m telling you, McKay, it cannot be done!” Samantha yelled. “You cannot ignore the way the world works simply because it interferes with your ego!”

“My lady, you may have been trained by the Asgard, but have you ever designed and built a ship?” he asked in a patronizing tone. “I did not think so.”

Both of them as wrapped up as they were in their argument, they did not notice their surroundings as they stopped and glared at each other. In fact, it was not until the queen greeted them that they noticed her presence, and both looked appropriately chagrined for their behavior. Samantha in particular avoided the disapproving stare from her mentor.

“Captain Pendergast,” said the queen, “may I present Lady Samantha, daughter of Sir Jacob Carter, and Master Rodney McKay, shipwright of Iolan.”

Pendergast nodded to them both and fixed McKay with a stern look. “So you’re the maverick who conjured up that novel thing in the water out there?”

The other man went from embarrassed to indignant in half a moment. “I beg your pardon,” he said. “That ‘novel thing’ is far superior than any ship Atalan or any other country has ever seen.”

The sea captain chuckled in response. “Good for you,” he replied. “A good shipwright is always confident in his creations.”

McKay looked as though he did not know how to respond to that. From what Marcus had seen of McKay’s sense of social interaction, he suspected that was very much the case.

Pendergast turned his attention back to the queen. “This place still has good bones, despite the lack of care,” he explained. “Given an adequate labor force, I could have enough of it rebuilt to the point that Master McKay could begin construction of a new ship within three weeks.”

The queen turned her gaze to McKay. “And with an operational shipyard could you begin construction in three weeks?” she asked.

McKay hesitated. “It is theoretically possible–”

“Then make it so,” she ordered. The shipwright and Lady Samantha shared a vaguely horrified look. Elizabeth did not see it, however. “I will leave the three of you to work out your plans. Lord Jonathan, if you would come with me.”

As Marcus followed the queen and the others back to the palace, he found that he did not envy Lady Samantha, McKay, or Pendergast in the slightest.

* * *

  
Elizabeth and Jack passed the short, brisk walk back to the palace in a comfortable silence, though he could hear Lorne, Kate, and Laura behind them, talking in low, amused tones. It did not take an Asgard scholar to discern that they were talking of the display Master McKay and his chief protégé had put on when they had appeared at the shipyards.

He had initially been hesitant to put Samantha together with the shipwright when he had first been introduced to him, being very well aware that Jacob’s daughter did not suffer arrogance easily. But Jack could now see the genius of the queen’s plan. The two were already inspiring a fierce competitiveness in each other, which would only add to their natural skills and intelligence.

Still, he did not envy Lionel having to deal with them both. Samantha was a stubborn young woman, and she had a temper that had cowed nearly everyone who lived in the palace at one time or another. And McKay was an entity unto himself.

Jack glanced over at Elizabeth. She was clearly lost in thought, no doubt gathering herself for the meeting with Daniel and George. It would be the first time she had spoken with them privately since her outburst at Kinsey.

To be truthful, he was more concerned about Daniel’s reaction to the situation than he was about Elizabeth. Jack knew that the Duke of Langford still tended to look at his younger cousin as a child and his first instinct would be to scold her for losing her control, so he had spoken to Daniel earlier that morning to warn him about making such a move. The time for reprimanding Elizabeth like a little girl had passed them by, and not acknowledging that would only cause more problems.

When they finally came to the small throne room, they found that Daniel and George were already there, just as Jack had expected they would be. Both men bowed to the queen, who nodded distractedly to them and bypassed the throne to gaze out the large window overlooking the main courtyard.

The silence began to lengthen awkwardly until George finally spoke up. “Majesty, the college is prepared to assemble together at your command. Do you have a particular address in mind?”

Elizabeth sighed quietly, still not turning around to look upon them. “I know I must respond to the attack on Hoff, there is no question of that in my mind. These vicious… people must be made to pay for their actions.”

Jack glanced over at Daniel, who was staring at his cousin thoughtfully. After a moment, he said, “Perhaps it might be best if you outlined a plan of some kind.”

The queen finally turned toward them, the hem of her burgundy gown sweeping the tiled floor at her feet.

Jack was quick to press on before anything could be said of the previous gathering within this room. “Daniel is right. Many of the lords within the college have lands or even family who reside on the coast. If they are assured with specifics that something is being done to protect them, then they should come to support you.”

Her eyes moved from face to face and Jack thought he saw some of her uncertainty fade. “Truly,” she asked softly. Then she smiled slightly and nodded, continuing in a much stronger voice.

“I believe that now is the time to unveil my plans for the navy. This is something I have been planning to do for sometime now, but I think doing so now will reassure the lords that something is being done, even after so much inaction.” Jack stiffened, knowing she was thinking of Kinsey. Before he could say anything to bring the subject back on track, however, she seemed to shrug it off herself and continued.

“They will also understand that I will not be intimidated by anyone, be they pirates who attack innocent villagers just to frighten me, or people who seek power for themselves.”

All three men nodded in approval, and then Daniel told her, “I believe that Lord Robert has guessed your plans for the rebuilding of the ships. Several of his people have been asking questions about everything concerning the navy. Master McKay’s timetable, the supplies needed, anything.”

Elizabeth pursed her lips. “I shall just have to be on my guard, then. I will not let those ships be lost in a bid for personal power.”

* * *

  
Jonas had heard whispers that the queen was expected to address the college of lords the following morning, and he was a little sad to hear that, as he would have liked to have heard her speak again and knew that the first group of refugees was expecting to leave Atlantis before sunset, settling into their temporary home in Athos. Jonas himself had committed to helping them settle in their new home, but beyond that he did not quite know what he was going to do.

But it rained heavily that afternoon, making the channel too treacherous for the ferry to cross with so many small children aboard. The queen allowed them to stay another night and graciously invited them to dine with her that evening. Most of the Hoffans seemed a little overwhelmed as they entered Queen Elizabeth’s dining hall, but her warm smile and ease of manner seemed to help them to relax and enjoy the food and the company.

However, Jonas found himself distracted. At the far end of the room was the queen’s table, and among her attendants was John of Sheppard. The intimacy and good humor in his interaction with the young woman made Jonas feel more and more strongly that no one in the court of Atalan was aware of John’s heritage.

The queen began to walk about the room when dessert was served, even lifting a little girl who was now orphaned and carrying her about as she spoke with each of the refugees in turn. Jonas was among the last. “Master Quinn, is it not?” she asked of him, letting the child down to run back to her friends.

Jonas nodded to her. “Yes, Majesty.”

“One of the women from the village said you were a minstrel passing through when the attack happened,” she said. “I am grateful that you stayed to help them.”

“How could I do otherwise?” he asked.

The queen smiled at him, and her mind seemed to drift elsewhere. “You have traveled much, I imagine.”

“Yes, since my youth.”

“Would you favor us with a song, perhaps?” she asked. “I find myself wishing to hear something from beyond my country’s borders.”

Jonas could not quite believe the opportunity he had just been given. As he stood, the queen returned to her place, and he was provided a lute. This was how he would determine whether or not Sir John was who Jonas thought he was.

He had played but a few chords when Sir John, seated between the queen and Lady Katherine, stiffened. Jonas had his answer.

It was a love song, though Jonas had always privately held the opinion that the singer was in truth speaking of a search for his homeland, described as a beautiful woman, hard to find and harder to hold on to. Jonas knew the feeling all too well, having been gone from home for a long time. If the rumors he had heard about Sir John and his departure from Caldora were true, this knight could sympathize as well.

Jonas knew he did not have the best of voices, but he kept the queen’s attention as he sang. When he finished, she was smiling, and was the first of many to applaud. Jonas bowed to her and to the rest. “That was lovely,” the queen said. “I confess myself curious. Where did that song originate?”

It was his turn to feel awkward and stiff. He had hoped Elizabeth would not ask this. “Caldora, my lady,” he replied, fully aware of the murmuring that would cause. “Forgive my boldness, but your Majesty seemed to be keen on hearing something new. I thought a Caldoran air would be the least familiar.”

Jonas could see several of the men shifting around uncomfortably, but the queen merely shook her head and smiled. “Whatever else I might be inclined to say about Caldorans, they can certainly write a charming love song,” she said. “Would you play another, Master Quinn?”

After a brief glance at Sir John, who was avoiding eye contact with everyone, Jonas lifted the lute and began to play once more.

* * *

  
Kate hid a yawn as she watched the various servants continue about their duties in cleaning the hall. Laura had accompanied the queen back to her rooms for the night, as both of them were most likely even more exhausted than she was from the events of the past few days. Seeing how tired they were, Kate had quickly volunteered to remain behind and see to that the cleaning was finished in a timely manner, despite her own great weariness.

The sound of clinking china and her own fatigue nearly caused her to miss the approach of another figure, but she caught it out of the corner of her eye. Slowly turning, she found herself face to face with the minstrel who had accompanied the Hoffan refugees and had performed for Elizabeth’s pleasure earlier.

“Lady Katherine,” the young man greeted, bowing respectfully.

“Master Quinn,” Kate replied, eyeing him curiously. Given the late hour, she thought he would have followed the example of everyone else and retired to sleep. Instead he was still dressed in his formal clothing, and he looked distinctly nervous about something.

“I… The party seems to have gone very well,” he said hesitantly. “I hope I satisfied her Majesty with my performance this evening?”

She smiled and nodded. “You did indeed, sir. The queen does not often hear the songs and tales of other nations, so hearing music from Caldora was a great pleasure for her.”

“I… noticed that Sir John did not seem as entertained.” The minstrel smiled slightly when her eyes widened. Kate had not known anyone else had noted the way John had stiffened. “I am told I have an exceptional memory, my lady. I do not often forget what I see.”

Kate couldn’t help but blush slightly. “Please, do not take offense. Sir John is…” She trailed off, unable to think of something to say that would neither insult Jonas’ intelligence nor do a great disservice to John’s character.

Jonas’ expression grew serious then. “I was actually hoping to ask you about Sir John, if you do not mind?” With her curious nod, he continued. “I have traveled through much of the country and I must confess, I have not heard his accent within these borders.”

She stared at him, suddenly feeling cautious. “Sir John is not from Atalan,” she told him slowly. “He has never informed anyone, to my knowledge, of his country of origin. He… has said only that he had no sovereign lord, which changed when he swore an oath to serve the queen after he saved her from an assassin in the hours before her coronation.”

“I see.” Jonas’ expression grew even more conflicted and troubled. “If I may advise you my lady, I suggest that if he has not informed her Majesty of the country of his birth, then she should ask him as soon as the opportunity presents itself.”

Kate opened her mouth to ask him why, but he bowed courteously to her and began to retreat. “I will bid you good evening, Lady Katherine. Please, thank the queen for the honor she bestowed upon me.”

She watched him leave the hall, a feeling of apprehension coming over her. The minstrel’s words concerning John were disconcerting, giving her the feeling that something was waiting just beneath the surface, something that did not bode well for any of them.

A loud crash jarred Kate out of her thoughts and she whirled around to find that a stack of dishes had fallen over. As several servants rushed to gather up the broken shards, she hurried over to assist them, making a mental note to speak with Sir John the following morning when she had a spare moment to obtain his attention.

Suddenly, she felt even more exhausted than she had just a few minutes before.

When she finally joined Laura and Elizabeth, who were both fast asleep, she found she could not take her mind off this information. It was clear to her that Master Quinn had come to her out of a sense of honor, feeling he could not accept the queen’s hospitality and conceal this information. He had been right to come to Kate, but now she carried his burden, without the knowledge of what precisely had troubled him, only a feeling that this could damage the queen.

The obvious action, and the one she had restrained herself from taking, was to wake Elizabeth immediately and share everything that Jonas had told her. Admittedly, it was not much, but it was enough to raise anyone’s curiosity. She held back, though, knowing that the queen was in need of sleep more than cryptic warnings just now. As the night wore on and sleep continued to elude her, Kate came to the conclusion that the best option was to speak with Sir John before she went to Elizabeth. If he was as honorable a man as the queen believed, then he needed to be afforded the opportunity to confess his sins himself, instead of being tattled on like an errant child.

As dawn arrived, Kate prayed fervently that none of this was in any way connected to Lord Robert. If John was somehow involved with the man’s schemes, if Lord Robert was planning some sort of retribution during the queen’s speech, Kate would never forgive herself for not alerting Elizabeth immediately.

The next morning, Kate stood in the Hall of Kings, suppressing a yawn as she fought the impulse to run a hand over her skirt to smooth out any wrinkles that had appeared. She could not help but wonder if this was how Master Quinn had felt the previous night when he had approached her.

It had not been easy to slip away from the queen and the guard, given that there was so much to do. The dinner the night before had been a welcome respite, but there was still Elizabeth’s meeting with the college to contend with. She had been fortunate when Lord George, Lord Daniel, and Lord Jack had requested a private audience with the queen, which had granted Kate the opportunity to leave the chamber for a small amount of time on the pretext of gaining some refreshments for them from the kitchens.

Kate glanced around nervously. She could not wait much longer. If he did not come through the Hall of Kings, then she would have to wait for another chance to relay her message, before the speech commenced. Would it be too late by then?

But there he was, striding towards the opposite end of the cavernous room. The queen had placed Sir John and a small group of other knights in charge of seeing to the relocation of the Hoffan refugees, and had also requested periodical updates on their status. The first group had moved to the mainland this morning, so there was little doubt he was intending to report to Elizabeth at that very moment.

When he was almost abreast to where she stood in the shadow of old King Benedict’s statue, she called out softly, “Sir John, a moment, please.”

The knight stopped immediately and Kate vaguely noted how his hand instinctually went to the pommel of his sword. When he looked in her direction and opened his mouth to speak, she quickly held up her hand for silence, and then motioned for him to come closer.

Sir John’s confusion at seeing her standing in the silhouette of one of the many statues in the hall with the hood of her cloak drawn up to hide her identity was apparent, but Kate did not feel any need to explain herself.

“Sir John, you have served her Majesty faithfully in your time here, but there is much that you have not told her. She has been content to wait until such time as you are prepared to inform her of the facts you have withheld, but I suggest that if you have something important to tell the queen about yourself, you should do so with all speed.”

She began to back away from the man, intent on leaving and completing her original errand. But before she could go far, he asked, “What is it that you know?”

Kate stopped and looked at him. His expression revealed nothing, but there was something in his eyes. Fear? Apprehension? She could not be certain. Softly, she replied, “Only that the country of your birth is her concern.” She looked away briefly. “Her Majesty considers you a friend, Sir John. To keep this a secret, or to allow her to hear this from another source, can only bring her harm.”

She departed at that point, hurrying off toward of the palace kitchens and not turning her head to look back at him. Kate believed she had done the right thing in encouraging him to speak to Elizabeth, but why did she feel as though she had just unleashed something so very capable of spinning out of control?


	3. stargate_ren

  
When Elizabeth was still sixteen, she had successfully argued until the college of lords granted her permission to attend their sessions and observe, in deference to the fact that when she reached the throne, she would need to be familiar with the business before the college and the realm in order to rule. Most of the college had grown accustomed to seeing her sitting silently off to the side of the room during their meetings.

Daniel stood before his seat, watching as Elizabeth stepped gracefully onto the dais and stood before the simple wooden chair that had waited empty for a decade, until she could claim her rightful place. However, on this day, she did not sit immediately. She nodded at them all to be seated, but she remained on her feet, her hands clasped loosely before her. When the college had settled, she began to speak.

“My lords, you are all aware of the vicious and extensive attack on our lands that took place not four days ago. An entire settlement has been decimated by the Wraith. Not content with simply raiding the village of Hoff, the Wraith burned everything, leaving few survivors and nothing of value behind. Hoff, for all purposes, no longer exists.

“It is impossible for us not to understand the message. This was not an attack on a lone village or a single people. It was an attack on us, on our rule and our ability to protect the people of Atalan.”

The young queen's gaze swept the room slowly. Her voice rang to every corner of the hall.

“Our answer to this attack will be to wipe the scourge of the Wraith from the waters of Atalan entirely.”

Murmuring broke out at this bold declaration. Daniel detected a strong sense of approval in the people around him.

Elizabeth drew a breath. “To that end, we hereby commission Master Rodney McKay, subject of our friend and ally Iolan, to pursue the rebuilding of our navy with all speed. Master McKay is given charge of this project, and shall not be impeded by anyone in any way that might materially delay the completion of no fewer than four vessels by the end of winter.”

Elizabeth’s lofty goal brought another round of gasping and whispers. In the small knot of people standing near the doorway where Elizabeth had entered, Daniel saw McKay looking slightly nervous but also determined.

The queen lowered her voice slightly. “Our honored father, King Edmund, often spoke of the importance of sacrifice. He believed that none of us was without responsibility for our country, from the lowest peasant to himself. Our safety, and our honor as a nation, is not solely our own burden, or even the burden of this assembly, but of every citizen of the realm.

“So today, we ask of you a sacrifice. There is much work to be done to rebuild our country, to make her strong again, to preserve the safety of every man, woman and child in Atalan. It will require all of us, working together, to accomplish. It is a task of many years, and we fear great hardships yet await us before the goal is reached.”

The entire hall was still.

“But our faith rests, as always, on our people. We have within us the capacity to restore Atalan beyond all former glory. We have the capability to ensure that all our people sleep soundly at night without fear of any enemy. It will require hard work. It will require that we each surrender some luxuries and some resources that we might hold dear. Most of all, it requires that we have faith in each other, and that we bind our faith together for the common good.

“We ask today that all the citizens of the realm prepare themselves to work for this goal, for the benefit of our whole nation, and join us in beginning the new era of Atalan’s history.”

She finished and there was a momentary silence before fervent applause began from some quarter and quickly engulfed the room as the entire college rose to their feet. The clapping and cheers rolled through the hall and echoed off the stone for some minutes before the queen nodded once and then seated herself, gesturing to Lord George to stand and begin addressing the specifics.

A month ago, Elizabeth had been crowned queen of Atalan, but Daniel thought to himself that her reign truly began today.

But she was also about to face her first test.

Lord George called for order and almost immediately, Lord Bertram Samuels, Kinsey’s closest ally, rose to his feet. “Majesty, my lords, I submit to you that in order to pursue her Majesty’s most noble goal, it would be prudent to install the person with the most experience to oversee the project. I humbly suggest that Lord Robert consider accepting the task and bringing his knowledge of our defenses to bear on this immense undertaking.”

Due to Daniel’s earlier warning, neither Elizabeth nor Lord George showed any great surprise. The rest of the college was not so sanguine. It was difficult to judge from the mutterings, but Daniel suspected that Elizabeth’s stirring speech had not inclined many of the men and women in the room to welcome a step backwards in time. It was hardly a secret to any of them that the current state of the navy was Kinsey's fault.

Some brief discussion ensued, but then Elizabeth raised a hand. It took a moment for silence to fall, as the college was still unused to the monarch being present among them. Her voice and face remained utterly composed. “I acknowledge the sentiment, Lord Bertram, and while I mean no disrespect to Lord Robert, it appears to my admittedly young understanding that this is a task requiring a great deal of specialized skill. Lord Robert, for all his many talents, is neither a shipwright nor a sailor.”

Daniel smiled inwardly at the perfectly respectful tone Elizabeth kept as she spoke. Recognizing his cue, Jack stood. “Majesty, my lords, I have given this matter some thought since the queen first approached me and I have taken the liberty of contacting Captain Lionel Pendergast.” From the shadows behind where McKay was lurking, Pendergast appeared, flanked by Lady Samantha. He bowed to the room as many of the younger nobles stared at the man's wooden leg.

Jack's voice grew slightly rough. “The captain, as you can see, has known service in combat. He served honorably in the navy under the queen’s late father, and knows how to manage men and materials to provide Master McKay with precisely what is needed for this project. He has told me that he considers himself recalled to service to the sovereign of Atalan for as long as he is needed.”

Daniel stood up in his turn before Kinsey or Samuels could speak, keeping his voice as bland as he could. “It appears to me, Majesty, that with the Hoffan refugees now in need of our support, we can ill afford to waste even the smallest stick of wood. We will need someone like Captain Pendergast to ensure that we do not err in our preparation of materials for the navy and the shipyards.”

A low rumble of chatter broke out as he sat down. Daniel noticed that while Samuels and Kinsey were whispering furiously, Lord Woolsey, beside them, was looking at Daniel as if in agreement.

“My lords, it is my feeling that Lord Jonathan, as head of our armies, can be trusted on this matter as a reference, and that Captain Pendergast, along with Master McKay, should manage our great undertaking,” Elizabeth asked benignly. “What say you?”

Samuels rose to his feet, “Majesty-” but a chorus of agreement with Elizabeth stifled him and Kinsey tugged the other man back down angrily.

The queen nodded graciously as the college sided with her, not even the slightest hint of satisfaction that she had thwarted Kinsey apparent on her pretty face.

Which was just as well, for Jack was dangerously close to sticking his tongue out at the man.

* * *

John did not attend Queen Elizabeth's speech to the college of lords, for he would not have been able to concentrate on what she was saying. He was too busy mulling over Lady Katherine's warning, and wondering how the young lady had discovered the truth and from what source. He knew Kate was right, that he had to tell Elizabeth himself, but he wished desperately that it had not come to this.

He knew it had been foolish to conceal his identity from the queen for all this time, but it had been so long since he had been able to stand on his own actions rather than his father’s name. He had not been able to resist the temptation. Now, he had a horrible feeling his deception was going to cost him dearly, and worse, cost the queen.

She was smiling, cheeks flushed, when she came around the corridor where he waited. When she saw him, she stopped short. “Sir John,” she said, “would you join us? I have business to attend over luncheon, but I would be glad of your company.”

John looked about nervously before catching Kate’s eye. Her expression was almost dangerously expectant. He turned his attention back to Elizabeth. “Majesty,” he said, “I need to speak with you. Alone.”

His request surprised her, but after looking at him for a few moments she frowned. “Kate, Laura, tell Lord George and the others that I will be delayed a few moments,” she said.

The ladies departed with all haste, but Lorne and the other two guards remained. “Is something amiss, sir?” Elizabeth asked. “Are the Hoffans all right?”

“We left them with the Athosians in good spirits, my lady,” John replied, his nervousness increasing. “What I have to tell you. . . Madam, this would be easier in private.”

She looked at Lorne, who nodded and walked away to open a door for them. John followed the queen inside the room, which appeared to be an audience chamber of some sort. It was small, with fine tapestries on the walls, but had only a single chair on a low dais. Elizabeth did not take her seat, however, but stood before John as Lorne closed the door, leaving them alone. “What is it?” she asked.

He could not look at her. He could not look her in the eye and tell her that he had willfully kept this from her. “You have been kind,” he began. “When I came here, you instilled your trust in me though you knew little about me.”

The queen’s eyes narrowed. “What are you saying?”

“I would not have you hear this from someone else,” he replied. Lifting his gaze to hers, he said, “My lady, by birth I. . . I am Caldoran.”

John winced at the cold mask that settled over her face immediately. “What?” she asked, her voice dangerously low.

“I am Caldoran,” he repeated, “or was. But I have pledged my allegiance to you, Majesty, and I feel that is the more important matter.”

“You are not that simple,” she snapped. John did not feel comfortable with the tone of her voice. “You are not so simple as to believe that your birth is a matter of no importance. You know our history! What made you think that no one would care?”

“That is not what I–”

“Of course they will care!” John took an involuntary step backward. He had seen her temper flare before, but not with such strength and not directed at him. She turned away from him as she continued to rant. “My first act as queen was before the entire college of lords and countless foreign dignitaries, and it was knighting _you_ ,” she said. “Did you honestly think this would remain a secret?”

“That is why I am telling you now,” John replied, starting to feel a little irritated by her reaction. Was she not the one who had spoken of reforging ties with Caldora? “I thought it best that you hear it from me.”

Elizabeth stepped up on the dais and sat on her throne. John stood before her and they stared at each other. The anger radiating off her had turned her beauty into something fierce. “Are you a spy?” she asked coldly.

“What?” John demanded, gaping at her. “Majesty, I pledged my life to you–”

“You lied to me!” she burst out. “I trusted you, and you lied to me!”

“And what option did I have but to keep my tongue?” he retorted, his temper snapping. “Always you are surrounded by armed men who could cut me down in an instant if I did not suit your whims at that moment!”

John wished the words unsaid the moment they left his mouth, knowing that she was not so petty or capricious. Through the anger on her face he could see hurt, and he had to look away. The silence between them was terribly awkward, and though he regretted his words, his pride was sufficiently injured to keep him from apologizing.

“Sir John,” she said, her voice tight and even, and she waited to continue until he had looked up at her. “You are to return to Athos this afternoon. You will see to it that the Hoffans are settled there, and you will assist Lady Teyla in whatever she needs.”

John nodded, looking at the hem of her dress. “That is an excellent idea.”

Elizabeth waited another moment, until he met her eyes again. Her expression struck him like a blow. Then, in a low, bitter voice she said, “Get out of my sight.”

His jaw clenched. John stared at her defiantly before storming out, wondering if he would ever return.

* * *

Elizabeth stood on the small parapet outside one of the rooms between the family suites and the more public areas of the palace, watching the sunlight fade. Her whole afternoon she had struggled to focus on the meetings that had been demanded by various nobles regarding her speech. Most of the college of lords appeared excited and energized by the prospect of rebuilding the navy and eliminating the Wraith threat.

Yet the entire day, her mind had been distracted by her confrontation with Sir John. Before supper, when she had finally snatched a moment of privacy, Kate had confessed her part in John’s admission, which only served to heighten Elizabeth’s agitation. Though her own temper wished to vent itself at Kate, Elizabeth acknowledged that her old friend had taken the most reasonable course of action open to her, under the circumstances. Without Kate's intervention, who knew how much longer John would have concealed this from her?

Now that the first flush of anger had cooled, she realized she had made yet another mistake in sending him to Athos so quickly. There were questions still unanswered. John had told her he was born Caldoran, but he also indicated he no longer considered himself loyal to King Henry. She did not know why, or what had driven him to such a state.

Her first reaction to his news had been to lash out, furious that she had been so reckless with her own trust even when all about her had counseled restraint. Underneath the instant surge of old prejudice, she had felt a deep hurt that he had concealed this information from her.

And now, having seen the turning of sentiment within the nobles of Atalan in her favor, she was terribly afraid. She had just started to win the confidence of the college. When this information came out – as it inevitably would – her plans for the navy, indeed her very reign could falter.

Elizabeth took a deep breath. She could not prepare for the consequences until she had all the facts.

On cue, there was a soft knock on one of the doors. Captain Lorne stood in the open doorway, looking faintly puzzled. “There is a Jonas Quinn to see you, Majesty.”

“Send him in, Captain.” She glanced about the room. The other set of double doors looked to be shut already. “Please close the door behind you.”

She had not spoken to Master Quinn directly since he had performed at supper last night at her request. Lorne retreated as the musician bowed, “Majesty.”

She folded her hands before her. “Master Quinn. I understand it was you who alerted my lady-in-waiting about Sir John’s origins.”

His forehead furrowed and he looked vaguely nervous. “Yes, Majesty. I recognized Sir John’s face when I first saw him in Hoff. Over the course of the past two days, I finally recalled where I had seen him before.”

Gritting her teeth, Elizabeth pressed him. “And where precisely was that?”

He swallowed. “The royal court of Caldora, my lady.”

Elizabeth could not contain her gasp of horror. It took a moment to find her voice. “Sir John is noble-born?” she blurted out.

Master Quinn frowned. “He did not tell you?” At her silence, he grew even more uncomfortable. “My lady, he is the son of the Marquis of Sheppard. He was the heir to his father’s title, being the only surviving child.”

Elizabeth’s head was spinning unpleasantly. Sensing he was still withholding something from her, she summoned the full force of her glare. “Tell me the rest at once.”

He spoke slowly. “He was exiled, your Majesty. I do not know the precise reason.”

Elizabeth had not thought the situation could get worse, but the universe had proved her wrong. Not only was John nobility, he was in exile from his own country. She was shrewd enough to read between the lines of Master Quinn’s tale. For a country like Caldora, which had lost most of its young men to the Ori war, to exile the only direct male heir of a marquis, especially of a province as powerful and important as Sheppard... what in the world could John have done to merit such treatment?

What sort of man had she taken into her service?

Realizing he was still standing before her, Elizabeth gathered her wits. “Master Quinn, I would gently suggest that you remove yourself from the vicinity of those who would wish to obtain this information from you,” she said carefully.

She was relieved when he nodded in understanding. “Yes, my lady. I believe you are correct.”

“I will not ask where you intend to go, nor do I think you should divulge that information to anyone here,” Elizabeth said. She hesitated briefly before continuing. “I must also ask you a personal favor. That you not speak to anyone else in Atalan about this matter.”

He bowed and one worry on her heart eased. “You may rely on my discretion, Majesty.”

“Thank you.”

He left her then, and Elizabeth resolved to go to bed early, the better to avoid questions from others and give herself some time to think. In the morning, perhaps, she might see a way clear of the mess she had found herself in.

* * *

Lord Richard Woolsey was fairly new to the Atalan court, having just inherited the family title when a fire took the life of his cousin, as well as the man’s wife and two children, leaving Richard as the sole heir. He had been fairly content to run his own modest holdings, but now he found himself thrust into the chaos and intrigues of the court, something for which he was ill-prepared.

Lord Bertram Samuels had been a useful, if slightly unctuous, companion in Richard’s months in Atlantis. He was at the least a source of information on the other nobility who were milling about the capital. Samuels had warned him about the Duke of Langford, a tall, handsome man who was second in rank only to the queen. Supposedly Lord Daniel was known to have consorted with the Goa’uld and the Ori and had no loyalty but his own ambitions. Samuels stopped short of saying that the Duke had warped the young queen, but the implication was clear.

Richard, who was somewhat acquainted with Lord George of Hammond, was doubtful that the formidable man would have allowed even the queen’s cousin to harm the girl. Lord George was not someone to be trifled with.

His friendship with Samuels had not endeared Richard to Lord George, primarily because Samuels was extremely close with Lord Robert Kinsey. Richard found the former regent knowledgeable and fairly personable. His rhetoric rang slightly hollow at times, but it seemed strange to Richard that the new monarch and her advisors had so thoroughly cut the man who had run the country for a decade out of their deliberations. If anyone should have been serving as an advisor to the queen, it was Lord Robert.

The queen’s small temper tantrum the other morning had not soothed him. The girl was clearly young, but youth and inexperience could be forgiven certain things. However, her outright hostility suggested that some, if not all, of Samuels’ whispers were true.

It was to Samuels he turned now. The previous night, seeking to put his own mind at ease, Richard had made his way towards the royal chambers, hoping to beg a minute to speak with her. He had caught sight of the black-clad knights of the queen’s personal guard and realized she was in one of the more public rooms. The door he approached had been slightly ajar, and he had heard with his own ears the report of the traveler, that Sir John was born Caldoran nobility.

The queen had ordered the man to keep silent, suggesting that she was intending to conceal this information from the college of lords. Alarmed, Richard had withdrawn unseen.

It was this tale he imparted to Samuels when they met in the man’s small chamber in one of the outlying areas of the great city. The morning light was muted by heavy clouds outside the small window. For reasons Richard could not explain fully even to himself, he told Samuels only that Sir John was Caldoran. Something within him held him back from disclosing the rest, so he only explained that the young queen appeared to be attempting to keep Sir John's birth a secret.

“Her Majesty was alone at the time,” he concluded. “It seems to me that we should approach Lord George or even Lord Daniel and inform them of this. They can counsel her on how to announce to the college-”

Samuels waved a hand, jumping up from behind his desk eagerly. “No, we must take this information to the regent.”

Richard stifled his usual urge to point out that Lord Robert was no longer the regent. “You believe this information would be best coming from him?”

Something about the light in Samuels eyes made him uncomfortable. “Something like that.”

* * *

Laura was growing angry.

Last night, when she had expected the queen to be giddy over the success of her speech and the masterful way in which Kinsey’s attempt to gain influence and control over the navy had been blunted, Elizabeth had abruptly announced she was going to bed just after supper. There had been no talking or communication of almost any kind. Elizabeth had been pale and withdrawn.

Laura's confused looks at Kate had yielded at first only blank expressions, but as the day wore on, Laura caught her friend watching Elizabeth anxiously. Whenever Laura attempted to broach the subject, Kate grew more and more distant, until she finally snapped at Laura that they were too busy and should mind their duties.

It was quite clear that whatever was bothering Elizabeth, Kate knew something about it, but neither of them would tell Laura. There had never been a secret between the three of them that Laura could remember, and this strange exclusion hurt more than she could comprehend.

After the noon meal, a heavy rain set in, shrouding the island in a gray fog. Elizabeth was called to more meetings. Laura and Kate settled in to work on some of the sewing which was in danger of falling behind with the recent uproars in the palace.

The silence between them felt laden with tension as they worked. Laura kept making errors in her stitching that she then had to take out, increasing her frustration. Kate sewed mechanically, her eyes not truly focused on her work.

At her seventh mistake, Laura’s patience collapsed. She threw the garment across the room and jumped to her feet.

“Why will you not tell me what is going on?” she demanded.

Kate startled. “Laura-” she began.

“Do not give me excuses,” she interrupted. “What have I done to suddenly cause you to distrust me?”

“It is not that!”

“Well, then?” Laura asked, belligerently.

“You have been much occupied with preparations for the wedding,” Kate began slowly.

“As if any of that matters to me?” Laura burst out. “You know perfectly well that I would cast aside such paltry concerns if the queen needed me. Or you should,” she snapped, glaring at Kate. “No more evasions. Tell me what has happened.”

Kate seemed to gather into herself, growing smaller. “Elizabeth has not discussed it with me, so I am unsure what to say.”

“You could start with what this mysterious ‘it’ might be,” Laura said coolly.

Kate shook her head. “I do not know. That is the truth, Laura,” she added, seeing her friend’s face. “It concerns Sir John and something Master Quinn knew about him that I believe he withheld from the queen.”

Laura paled. “Something bad?”

“I fear it,” Kate said quietly.

Laura sat back down, subdued. “She cares for him. If she finds out he has played her false...”

“It explains why she is so quiet today,” Kate nodded.

“I have not seen Sir John since yesterday,” Laura realized suddenly.

“Nor I. And Master Quinn left at the earliest light. No one knows where he went. But he was called to the queen's audience chamber last night.”

Laura did not need to ask how Kate had come by that information. Marcus Lorne had developed a habit of passing along such details to Kate. Laura had her own suspicions as to his motives, but this was not the time for such subjects.

She could not keep the plaintiveness from her own voice. “Why has she not told us?”

Laura saw her own hurt mirrored in Kate’s face. “I do not know. But if it is as bad as we fear, the last thing her majesty will need from either of us is more grief.”

Laura sighed. After a moment, she crossed the room and retrieved her mending. She sat back down next to Kate and they resumed their work in silence.

* * *

“You’re certain of what you heard?” Lord Robert demanded of Richard as soon as the word “Caldoran” had left his mouth.

“Yes, my lord.” He took a breath to continue his story, but Lord Robert leapt to his feet first.

“Who else knows of this?”

Richard blinked. “Outside of this room, only the queen and this Master Quinn, my lord, as far as I know.”

Lord Robert all but rubbed his hands together in glee. “Excellent. This is most excellent news.” He paced his spacious room for a moment. “The college will reconvene tomorrow afternoon? Excellent,” he repeated.

Richard gaped. “My lord,” he began hesitatingly. “You cannot mean to announce this to the college? In public?”

“Why not?” he asked. “The queen is concealing a vital and potentially dangerous piece of information from the college, and apparently from her own advisors, as you said yourself. It is our duty to report this.”

“Should we not speak to Lord George first?” When Samuels glared, Richard added, “Perhaps the queen is only investigating the situation before making an announcement. She was speaking to the musician, a vagrant who is perhaps not the most reliable source...”

He trailed off. The avarice in the eyes of the two men who were looking at him struck him hard.

“You saw her temper tantrum, Woolsey,” Samuels said to him. “You know how unstable she is. Now we find she has knighted a Caldoran, the historical enemy of Atalan.”

“Atalan and Caldora have never actually been to war,” Lord Richard said tiredly.

“No,” Lord Robert snapped. “But Caldora has never been much of an ally, have they? Rolling over for the Ori, killing their own children. They are weak, untrustworthy, and now one of them is in personal service to the queen of Atalan? Who knows what his real motives might be?”

Samuels was nodding as Lord Robert ranted on. And Lord Richard began to fear he had been mistaken about many things.

* * *

Daniel was looking over a scrawled list from Master McKay, attempting to decipher the man's handwriting. McKay might be brilliant – Captain Pendergast clearly felt so and he was an old, trusted friend of Jack’s – but a great calligrapher he was not. Not looking up, he nearly leapt from his skin when he heard someone speak just behind him. “Daniel.”

He gasped, forgetting protocol momentarily, “Elizabeth! You startled me.”

Her smile was faint. “I’m sorry. I did not mean to.”

“What’s wrong?” he asked immediately. He had noticed she had been quiet during the morning, but he had ascribed it to being perhaps tired after the previous day’s excitement. Then again, it occurred to him, she had retired quite early last night.

Elizabeth bit her lip, looking like nothing more than a child afraid to confess to a fault. She glanced around, as if looking for eavesdroppers, and Daniel's stomach tightened. He put an arm around Elizabeth’s shoulders and steered them both into his own rooms. Captain Lorne, who had been behind Elizabeth by several steps, closed the doors behind them, leaving Daniel alone with his cousin.

“Elizabeth, what is it?” he asked again.

As he watched, she appeared to steel herself. “Daniel, I fear I have made a terrible mistake.”

* * *

It had taken some time to remove himself from Lord Robert’s presence, but Richard wasted no time making his way through the palace to the royal chambers. He had no way of stopping the plans Lord Robert was spinning, but his own sense of honor demanded that he not leave a young, vulnerable woman to deal with this blind.

He went to seek Lord Daniel, the queen’s cousin, rather than approaching the queen. He did not know whether she would speak to him, and if the rumors were true, Lord Daniel might be more open to believing the worst of Lord Robert. The duke appeared in the hallway as Richard neared his rooms. Daniel turned to Captain Lorne, “Find Lord George and bring him here, quietly.” One of the guards walked away as Richard came up to the door.

“Lord Daniel?” he said nervously.

The wary expression on the duke’s face told Richard his associations with Lord Robert had definitely not gone unnoticed. “Lord Richard.”

“I had hoped to speak to you for a moment. It concerns Lord Robert.”

A small frown appeared on Daniel’s forehead as he stared at Richard. At length, he nodded and went back inside.

Following, Richard paused when he found the queen standing near the window, her fingers running absently over the sill. “Majesty,” Daniel said lowly. She turned and he saw a brief flicker of surprise go over her pretty face before it settled into a polite, formal expression. “Lord Richard.”

“Lord Richard has something to tell us of Lord Robert,” Daniel said, his voice neutral.

He saw the crease of her brow and decided it was perhaps best to tell them both at once. “Majesty, I fear I have compromised you.”

He saw the alarm in her and in the duke. “How is that, my lord?”

“I overheard your conversation with Master Quinn last night,” he said simply. The queen’s mouth tightened and he felt a new wave of guilt. It was apparent from Lord Daniel’s reaction that he knew the significance of the statement, meaning the queen had in fact told her advisors. “It was not my intention to violate your privacy. I overheard accidentally. But in trying to resolve what to do with the information, I’m afraid I spoke to another.”

“Kinsey?” Daniel’s lips twisted over the word.

“Samuels,” he corrected. “But he went directly to Lord Robert, who intends to announce this to the college of lords tomorrow.”

The queen closed her eyes for a moment. Richard imagined that Daniel was swearing heartily in his own head.

“You are certain?” the queen asked.

“Yes, my lady. I had no idea that Lord Robert would use this information in this way, or that he would attempt to expose you in such a situation with no reason,” he said awkwardly, trying to convey his regret.

She waved a hand. “You are hardly the first person to misunderstand Lord Robert.”

He nodded, feeling uncomfortable. “There is one small piece of good news, Majesty.”

Her eyebrows went up. “What is that?”

“Lord Robert and Lord Bertram know only that Sir John is Caldoran, but nothing else.”

“How is that?” Daniel asked, curious.

“Lord Robert did not wait for me to finish speaking long enough for me to tell him the rest.”

The queen and Daniel smiled at each other a little wryly. “Well, we must count our blessings, then, my lord.”

“Yes, my lady.”

“I trust,” Daniel said, placing a hand on his arm, guiding him towards the door, “that you will not speak of this to anyone else for the time being, Lord Richard?”

“No, my lord. I will be silent.”

Daniel nodded. Over her shoulder, the queen glanced at him. “Lord Richard?”

“Yes, Majesty?”

“I shall not forget this,” she promised.

He gave her one swift, grateful look before going into the hallway. He expected Daniel to return to the queen but the young man walked with him several paces, until they were away from the earshot of the guards.

“I feel somewhat embarrassed about my error of judgment, my lord,” Richard began. “I intend to discontinue Lord Robert’s company as soon as possible.”

They stopped walking and Daniel nodded. “I supposed as much. But I also wish to ask a favor of you.”

Puzzled, Richard waited.

“Do not isolate yourself from Lord Robert yet.”

It took a moment for Richard to parse the meaning behind this request. “You wish me to act as a spy, my lord?” he asked in surprise.

”I wish to reserve the possibility of collecting information such as what you have told us this evening," Daniel said glibly. "Your actions tonight suggest to me as well as to her majesty that you are a man who values honor and responsibility. I do not ask you to intentionally ingratiate yourself with Lord Robert or to take any special actions. Simply do nothing for the time being.”

Richard felt that there was more at work here than he could hope to fathom. Given the shifting ground under his feet this day, it seemed most prudent to nod in agreement. “I understand, my lord.”

* * *

Early the next morning, George appeared at the entrance to the queen’s private chambers, ready to escort her to attend the gathering of the college. There were dark circles around Captain Lorne’s eyes, and George was willing to admit, albeit ruefully, that he probably looked much the same.

After hearing Elizabeth’s tale of Sir John’s true origins, as well as hearing of how Kinsey was in possession of that same information and was intending to disclose it, he had stayed up late into the night with the queen, Jack, and Daniel. They were desperate to find a solution that would not completely humiliate Elizabeth before the entire college, nor damage her authority.

Admittedly, the solution they had was perhaps not the best one, but it was all they could do. Kinsey would not reveal the information until the college had been formally called to session, as he was no doubt eager to let the full disclosure be as public as possible. George, Daniel, and the queen had all come to the agreement that the only way to stop Kinsey was to reveal everything themselves before he could, which was what Elizabeth would do the moment the college had settled in for the meeting. The queen held the right to bring up any subject before hearing any petitions or requests to speak before the assembly by the other lords. This would be their only window of opportunity. She would explain Sir John’s Caldoran background and announce that she was in the process of investigating the situation, in order to cut off accusations of deception before Kinsey could make them.

Jack’s suggestion had been more direct, if more violent.

“My lord,” Lorne said, breaking into his thoughts, “the queen asked to see you privately.” Without waiting for an answer, the captain of the guard turned and knocked softly on the door leading to Elizabeth’s public sitting room.

For several moments, nothing happened, until the door opened to reveal Lady Laura, who quickly stepped into the antechamber and gestured for them to enter. Lorne, however, stood aside with Laura.

Elizabeth stood at near the mantle of the large fireplace, gazing up at the portrait that hung above it. It was not a portrait of her parents, as one might have expected, but a portrait of Queen Helena, the last ruling Queen of Atalan, who had governed the country nearly two hundred years before. Elizabeth had discovered the portrait in storage and had immediately ordered that it be cleaned and brought to her chambers. Helena had been a woman of great beauty and strength, and was remembered by all traditions to have ruled Atalan very well. Her example, George knew, was one Elizabeth had long since devoted herself to, hoping to emulate the other woman as best she could.

Lady Kate, who was also present, curtsied to both him and the queen before stepping outside to join Lorne and Laura, leaving him alone with Elizabeth. George bowed and murmured softly, “Good morning, your Majesty.”

She turned to look at him and nodded. “Good morning,” she replied. “Is it time?”

“The college will not convene without you,” he assured her, “but we should arrive in a timely manner, lest Kinsey have yet another plan on his mind.”

It was a poor attempt at humor, and it did not bring a smile to her young face. George sighed inwardly. Making Elizabeth laugh and smile had always been under Jack’s purview. The man had a way with children, perhaps because he was often so childlike himself.

“You warned me,” she said suddenly and he focused more fully on her. The desolation in her voice and expression tore at his heart. “You, Daniel, Jack, Captain Sumner... You all warned me that he was hiding something. I...” she hesitated. “I truly thought...”

“Majesty,” George began, and then shook his head slightly. Queen she might be, but she was still in so many ways a child, a child he had stood as father to for these many years. “Elizabeth,” he amended softly, “what is done is done. Laying blame upon yourself will not help you.” He stepped closer to her and reached out, lifting her chin up so her eyes would meet his own. “We can only deal with what comes before us. This situation is still salvageable if we can reveal the information before Lord Kinsey.”

Elizabeth stared up at him, her own hand coming up to grasp his hand tightly. George mustered up what he hoped was a reassuring smile and said, “Now, I believe we should be on our way, Majesty.”

She returned his smile with a small one of her own and nodded wordlessly. He brought her hand to rest on his arm and led her from the room. As they started down the hall, Laura and Kate slipped into their wake while Lorne and his guards formed up around them.

As they passed by a balcony overlooking the waters surrounding the island, George noted the chilly breeze that unexpectedly blew in, in spite of the appearance of warm morning sunshine. Appearances that morning were quite deceiving.  



End file.
